Champion youths come of age in 5-4 win over Lehman

By Mike Reeder, Contributing Writer :
April 30, 2013

No matter what happened earlier this week in the Boerne Champion baseball team's rain-delayed tie-breaker game with Alamo Heights, the Chargers will have already extended their season beyond the point anyone thought possible barely a month ago.

After stumbling out of the gate in District 27-4A with a 2-7 record, the youthful Chargers completed a 6-1, second-half turnaround last Friday with a 5-4 win over Kyle Lehman, guaranteeing them at least one game beyond their regular schedule.

“I don't think it was any one thing, just growing up and gaining some confidence and learning how to win a close game,” Champion head baseball coach Chuck Foster said. “It's all them, just their desire to get up off the mat and battle.”

Junior Zeke Curney ended a see-saw game with a two-out, seventh-inning grounder that ticked off the glove of Lehman's shortstop and plated senior Jace Bullinger with the winning run. After taking a knuckleball for ball one, Curney expected a fastball — and got it.

“I knew he was going to throw me a fastball to get ahead of me and try to get me on my toes,” Curney said. “I just tried to put it in play on the ground and make them make a play.”

Champion had started off the year ranked among the state's top 10, Class 4A teams. But that was based more on winning tradition than the reality of a team that had just graduated two college-bound pitchers and most of its infield.

Foster and the few seniors on the team knew it would take awhile for the sophomores and juniors to adjust to varsity ball. They just didn't expect it to take as long as it did.

“Baseball's baseball,” senior captain Nathan Guerra observed. “It was just the mental aspect of the game. Once you realize this guy is not the best pitcher I've ever seen in my life, you have self confidence to go in that box and just swing.”

Pitcher Nick Kindred, one of six sophomores on the roster, is a case in point. After enduring early season struggles, he emerged as Champion's ace down the stretch. He went the distance against Lehman, shrugging off an error that led to one Lobos run and keeping his composure throughout a complete game effort that saved Champion's season.

“It's a big adjustment going from JV to varsity,” Kindred agreed. “The pitching really is a lot more finesse. They hit their spots better, not to mention the higher velocity. You always get frustrated with things that happen. But you have to know to keep your composure out there and just go after the next batter.”

The win in Boerne over the Lobos was in many ways a microcosm of the Chargers' season. Guerra staked Champion to a 1-0 lead with a first-inning RBI triple. But he was left stranded on third when Sullivan got picked off first base for out three.

Sophomore Nathan Elam cost Champion another potential run in the sixth. With no outs and the game tied, he headed home from third without waiting to see if a ball hit to short had cleared the infield. He was thrown out by a mile.

Both youthful mistakes left Foster fuming. But Elam is also a talented player who had pitched Champion to a crucial win over Heights just the week before. And Sullivan's two-out walk in the seventh against Lehman advanced Bullinger into scoring position with the winning run.

“Nobody tries harder than these guys,” Foster said. “No one's trying to screw up and make a mistake. It's just a growing experience.”